Shallow Edges Left of Sun
by FictionChic
Summary: Leah Clearwater had never asked for any of this. She had never asked to become a wolf—it took everything from her and morphed her reality into ashes. "Being any kind of happy is better than being miserable about someone you can't have," she had once declared wisely. At least, at the time, she thought her words were wise. And another thing: she had never asked to imprint.


**Satuday, March 18th, 2006:**

"Dianna, seriously, I can't talk, right no—

"_No_, _but just real_—_just real quick_!" the voice on the other end stuttered with excitement and urgency, "_Um_, _so_, _the orange one or the green one_? _We're still at the store and we're still going to have to wash it_. _And mom __needs__ to know if you'll need towels_?"

"I guess the—

"_Okay_, _I'm asking_, _right now_!" the voice on the other end, Dianna snapped, sounding further away, "_Seriously_, _mom_? _Is she gonna be here_, _then_? _Okay_…" a heavy sigh and Dianna spoke more clearly, "_Hey_, _are you still there_? _Mom says she's sorry_, _but because we'll have so much driving to do_, _she won't have time to cook_. _Is McDonald's fine for dinner_? _There's a million of them in Sea_—

"Ma'am?" the clipped voice of the stewardess unknowingly interrupted what Dianna was going to say, "Excuse me?"

"_Hello_? _Sivan_? _Hellooooo_!?"

Sivan looked up, startled by the stewardesses sudden presence. She could still faintly hear what was going on at the other end of the line and she sighed. Dianna always got so loud when she was excited. Or angry, or sad or irritated…

"I'm going to need you to turn off your phone," the stewardess said with a forced smile, her hands folded neatly in front of her, "We're about to take off."

Sivan had a feeling that she would be reprimanded, but that didn't stop the flush that filled her cheeks, "Okay, sorry," quickly, under the stewardesses eye, she put the phone back to her ear, "Hey, I have to go, but I'll see you soon! Love you, bye!" and she hung up, holding down the red 'end' button to turn it off.

It wasn't until she flipped it shut and in her pocket, that the stewardess gave a satisfied hum and walked off, surveying the aisles and other passengers.

Sivan sighed heavily and leaned her head back against the seat, closing her eyes. Her ponytail uncomfortably scrunched against the seat as she listened to the sound of the motors.

She heard the old woman sitting beside her, shifting her seat. They hadn't even taken off yet, but the woman had fallen asleep already. Sivan wondered if she had taken a sleeping pill or a night time benadryll to knock herself out for the ride.

She was jealous at the thought and wished she had done something akin to that…or exactly that.

'_I'm in a flying metal tube probably a million feet in the air and I've never heard of anybody surviving a plane crash_,' she thought morbidly, blowing out a deep breath she forced herself to take.

It didn't matter how cushy the airplane tried to look and if Sivan was being honest, it didn't look that cushy. There were stains all over the thin blue carpet, people snored, sneezed and coughed. People probably weren't covering their mouths and technically, she no longer had a primary care doctor. What if she caught something, got sick and died?

She supposed all of this would have been for naught, then.

It seemed like it took forever for the plane to take off and Sivan wondered if the fake smiley stewardess had lied to her about the phone thing. Perhaps another passenger had heard her talking and complained. Maybe another passenger had heard Dianna talking and complained. Either way, it was annoying. There were so many last minute things she had wanted to ask Dianna before she really did this.

'_It's too late now_, _I guess_,' she thought. She jerked, her heart jumping in her throat when the plane lurched into the air.

She gripped the arm rests and squeezed her eyes shut, her whole body taut. This was already terrible and it made her feel nauseous.

What would happen if she got plane sick? She knew there were air sick bags. If she threw up in one would it overflow? If it didn't, would she have to hold her vomit all throughout the flight, stinking up the plane? Or would the stewardess take it and throw it away?

The three forced deep breaths she took didn't calm her nausea and it wasn't until the plane leveled out into a steady ride, that she opened her eyes, releasing the tension in her shoulders.

The engines of the plane roared and from the window, peering over the old woman, Sivan could see all the clouds. It looked like they were flying above them and they were so pretty. They were bright white, shining like a nascent snow ocean in one dense layer.

She began to jiggle her foot up and down, bored out of her mind. Leaning down, she reached under the seat in front of her and pulled out her carry-on bag. She had packed a few snacks and at the airport, had bought an overpriced bottle of water. Bringing your own bottle while going through security, could apparently get you detained and searched and interrogated.

That was the last thing she needed.

She got out a small bag of chips and her bottle of water, then a book. She scoffed, rolling her eyes when she saw the cover.

Of course, in her panic of throwing last minute things into boxes that were being taken away and trying to figure out what she could and couldn't take on a plane, she had brought the wrong book.

It wasn't that big of a deal, just aggravating. The book '_Annie On My Mind_' wasn't a terrible read. If it was, she wouldn't still have it. It was written by Nancy Garden and the inside of the book said it had been published in 1982. Sivan had been trying to get through it since she was twelve in the seventh grade.

She was eighteen, now finishing up her senior year of high school and going to be nineteen in November.

The page she had left off on, was still dog-eared, the crease thin and close to ripping. There was no new book, paper smell and the cover had creased, showing wrinkly, white lines.

Lightly, she hit the cover against her hand, flipping through the book quickly. Still no new book smell.

Was reading on the plane, the same as reading in the car? Where it made you nauseous and possibly made you vomit.

It might have been a risk she was willing to take. She had flown out of Hartford, Connecticut and was going to Seattle, instead of Port Angeles. A one-way trip was five hours and twenty-two minutes and she was pretty sure she had only been on the plane for five minutes.

She turned the book over in her hands, reading the back summary, then flipped it back over again.

The cover was of two white girls with their foreheads pressed together, holding hands and sitting in front of a brick wall. One girl had long black hair, wearing a blue shirt and the other girl had short red hair wearing a green shirt.

Sivan thought they looked kind of sad.

She exhaled softly and stared at the cover a moment longer before she flipped the book open, flicking back the corner she had dog-eared.

"_I went downstairs to Dad's encyclopedia and looked up HOMOSEXUALITY, but that didn't tell me much about any of the things I felt. What struck me most, though, was that, in the whole long article, the word "love" wasn't used even once. That made me mad; it was as if whoever wrote the article didn't know that gay people actually love each other. The encyclopedia writers ought to talk to me, I thought as I went back to bed; I could tell them something about love._"

* * *

"You didn't have to come all the way up here, stupid. We would have met you at the baggage claim."

Sivan rolled her eyes at her cousin from the passenger seat of her aunt's dark green Alero, her luggage and carry-on in the backseat next to her cousin, unable to fit in the trunk.

She had flipped down the car's vanity mirror and was trying to make herself look somewhat decent. After the flight, she felt gross and hadn't had any time to stop by the airport bathroom.

Light brown eyes stared back at her, the black mascara she wore, lengthening her eyelashes and making the wide almond shape stand out.

'_It also makes my bags stand out more_, _ugh_,' she thought, scrunching her nose.

She turned this way and that, rubbing her hand across her forehead. She looked shiny, but not in a good way and her skin, always deeply warm, rich and tawny, looked red and blotchy from the makeup remover wipes she had just used. Even her short-bridged nose, had a red mark on the end, making her look like Rudolph.

Her lips were full and smooth with a slight red tint from the lipstick she had rubbed off. They felt dry and she had no chapstick or Vaseline.

Her dark brown hair had been released from it's ponytail and Sivan pegged her curls as being 3b and did her best to take care of them. They were long, cascading down her back, her equally curly forehead bangs, brushing her eyebrows and hiding her widow's peak.

Sivan let out a cry, startled when a hand slammed the vanity mirror back up.

"Quit looking at yourself and talk to your cousin," her aunt Janice, scolded her, "We haven't seen you in years!"

'_Christmas_, _two years ago_,' Sivan thought, but didn't say that out loud. Instead, she apologized.

"Sorry, Auntie," she mumbled.

Her aunt Janice was a sweet lady and very family-oriented. She was shorter than the other two women in the car, standing at 5'3". She sat on a red pillow to see better over the dashboard. She looked so youthful, her skin a beautiful red-brown orche. Her short, dense coiled hair framed her face, not a gray hair in sight. However, the hardness and wisdom behind her dark brown eyes betrayed her age.

"She right, though," Janice continued, "You should've waited. Obviously, I don't expect you to know, but there's been a couple murders happening 'round here. Homicides. It's scary. I didn't want you wondering around here by yourself. Not that we come up here all too often, but still."

"Okay," Sivan said. Seattle looked pretty nice, despite what she had just been told. She kind of wished her aunt lived here.

"Maybe we can come up for a weekend trip or something," Dianna suggested from the backseat, "A Girls' Day? Maybe in the summer when it's hot and super sunny?"

"I don't know if we'll have time for that. You two—," Janice shook her head, "Never mind, let's not talk about all of that, now. We'll talk more about this at home. Anyway, y'all still cool with McDonald's? It'll be a while 'till we get home."

'_Home_,' Sivan thought, '_Or something like that_,' she corrected.

"What's it like?" she asked, instead of answering her aunt's question, "I mean, I've never even heard of Forks besides you guys living there."

"It rains allllll the time," Dianna said, an eye roll clear in her voice, "That's it."

Her cousin, Dianna Carnahan was nineteen and the "Perfect Cousin". Dianna came from a loving two parent, later one parent home, always got straight A's, played sports, never got into any trouble and wanted to do amazing things with her life that everyone knew she could accomplish even with her hands tied behind her back. The family always talked and laughed about how Dianna had attempted to start a Black Student Union when she was in first grade.

Sivan wondered if that was really true or an exaggeration.

Dianna was pretty, too. She was shorter than Sivan by a couple of inches, standing at 5'4. She was slim and kind of curvy. Her deep brown, sepia skin was free of any blemish or mark and Sivan thought that in the sunlight, the warm orange-red undertones literally made Dianna look like she was glowing.

Her hair was in a protective style and looked freshly done even in its large twisted box braid bun. Any frizz held back with a light pink headband, showing off Dianna's nice facial structure.

"It does rain a lot," Janice continued and Sivan nodded, satisfied with her aunt's upcoming elaboration, "Last year, I read an article in the news that said it rained in Forks more than any town in the US. Crazy, right? Anyway, Forks is a small town, trees everywhere, small population, but everyone's pretty friendly. It can be nice and pretty homey."

"Is it all white people?" Sivan had to ask.

Both Dianna and Janice laughed, the sound contagious.

"You would think so, huh?" Dianna laughed again, "But, no. God, I'd just die if it was. It's not the number one place to be for diversity, you know what I mean? But it's all right. We've had a few people make racist comments or watch us in stores, but we're Black. That would happen anywhere."

"True," Sivan agreed. She grabbed her water bottle from the cup holder, playing with the plastic label, "So, what do you do there? If it's so small—are there—you know, like, dance studios, or shopping malls, or art classes or…" she trailed off, hoping she got her point across.

"Not really," Dianna said, "I don't know, I mean, people usually go up to Port Angeles if they're into that."

"Oh."

Sivan could feel her auntie's gaze on her, even if she was supposed to be keeping her eyes on the road. She knew that her tone had sounded disdainful, but she couldn't help it. What was she supposed to say?

So, nobody ever did anything in Forks? They just sat around or went to school or worked? Sure, okay, that was called being adult, but didn't adults have hobbies? She sure did.

"There is stuff to do in Forks," Janice interjected, "Not a lot, but you really have to look for it and make the most of it. Sivan, honey, you have to understand that people are content and comfortable. It's a small town and in small towns, you build a routine. There ain't a lot of new folk. You know, these people grew up together and a lot of those people stayed here and attended the local college or got jobs and started families and so on and so on. That's it. There are kids 'round here where their grandparents were toddlers together. There are a few hangout spots. A local diner, there's a beach—

"A beach!?" Sivan interrupted, gasping excitedly. All other thoughts left her mind, "Wait, really? What kind of beach?"

Janice made a face and shrugged, turning on her blinker, "What do you mean what kind of beach? It's a beach, Sivan. Water, rocks, birds. It's nice."

"_And_," Dianna interjected, making Sivan turn her head. Her cousin had a mysterious grin on her face, "There's these big cliffs for diving. I've never done it, but I heard it's cool."

"It's _not_ cool," Janice scoffed, "It's stupid and dangerous and those kids are lucky they ain't break their necks doing stuff like that."

"Yeah," Dianna discreetly waved her mother off, "It's called First Beach. It's in La Push…and La Push is the home of the Quiluete Tribe—it's the reservation," she explained, "I've been to the beach before. It's usually too cold for me, but it's really pretty."

Sivan lit up. She didn't care if it was snowing or one hundred degrees out. She loved the beach and she loved swimming and the water even more. She was excited about the thought of cliff diving. She had never done it before, but she wasn't scared of heights.

She had been a water baby and as a child had taken private swim lessons. She never did anything such as joining her school's swim team or becoming a lifeguard at the local pool, but that didn't discredit her love for the water. For awhile, she used to pretend that she was a mermaid like Ariel. It made for some embarrassing childhood stories.

"Are you wondering what you got yourself into?" Janice chuckled, "Feeling overwhelmed, yet?"

"No," Sivan shook her head. She was definitely feeling something, but couldn't tell if it was overwhelmed.

Or maybe she was. What had she gotten herself into? Hopefully, her family was just exaggerating or being dramatic. There was no way they would live in a town where there was absolutely nothing to do. There had to be something other than a diner and a beach. Perhaps they were so used to it, it wasn't exciting to them anymore.

Deciding to change the subject, Sivan made her voice light and said, "Anyway, thanks for picking me up. I'm sorry it was so far. I just didn't want to fly anymore if I didn't have to."

"Of course, baby girl," Janice said happily, "It's no problem. It's a nice drive and there were more shopping options in Seattle. And don't be stressing about it, Dianna's going to help you unpack."

"What!?" Dianna cried from the backseat, "Mom, no!"

"Don't you take that tone with me," Janice warned, glaring in the rear view mirror, "Don't start. Your cousin is going to need help unpacking."

"But I had plans tonight!" Dianna's voice turned whiny and Sivan rolled her eyes. Her cousin had always been like this and still got whatever she wanted, "Lara, Robin and Cole invited me to the diner and then we were gonna go to Lara's house and watch a movie."

Janice shrugged, "Well, I don't know why you would make plans when you knew your cousin was coming and I specifically said _don't make plans_. No, you're not going."

"I'm nineteen," Dianna huffed.

"Yeah, under my roof!"

Sivan kept still and bit her lip. So, her aunt was one of those. Now, she was starting to feel a bit overwhelmed. Did living with her aunt mean she would have to abide to some sort of curfew? Would she have to ask permission to leave the house and tell her aunt where she was going, what time she'd be back and who she was with and everything in between?

This was not why she had decided to go to Forks.

Obviously, the "I'm an adult now" excuse didn't work and Dianna was nineteen, Sivan only being eighteen.

Then again, Sivan wasn't her aunt's daughter, either. Maybe Dianna wasn't as perfect as everyone said and she had gotten into trouble at home. If Sivan admitted it, it was kind of rude that her cousin had made plans.

"My life does not revolve around _her_!"

Again, Sivan said nothing, but exhaled softly.

'_Remember when __Grandpa__ gave you a toast at Thanksgiving and said that the sun wouldn't burn without you_?' she thought bitterly. Her cousin could be such a brat, '_Hopefully_, _we won't be sharing a room_.'

"It's okay," she forced a small smile to tug at her mouth, "I'd rather do all the bedroom stuff by myself, if that's okay?" she tried to sound hopeful, "I'm really organized and like my things to go in certain places.

"Are you sure?" Janice asked. She looked at Sivan almost pleadingly, "Dianna doesn't mind being helpful."

"I do…"

"Be quiet!"

"I'm sure," Sivan assured, "Really, it's fine, Auntie but thank you."

Janice sighed, "Okaaaaay," she sang, "But you're still staying in, Dianna Jean, do you hear me?"

Even Sivan knew that when a black mother used both your first and middle names, things were starting to get dangerously serious.

"Mhm," Dianna hummed dejectedly, ending the argument.

After that, it was tensely silent in the car and Sivan leaned her arm on the car's armrest on the window button. She leaned her cheek on her closed fist and shut her eyes. She yawned.

She hadn't slept on the plane nor had she finished that book.

* * *

Aunt Janice and Dianna had been right. Forks was green. _Everything_ was green: the trees, their trunks covered with different patterns of moss, their branches hanging with a canopy of it, some close the ground, which itself was covered with ferns.

It was quite the sight.

"Wow…" Sivan breathed. She had never seen so much nature in one place. So much _alive_ nature in one place.

"Our backyard is the woods," Dianna informed her, "The forest. Well, I guess it's everyone's backyard, but I swear it goes for miles."

"Yeah, so, be careful when you're walking 'round out here," Janice said, "We don't need you getting lost, yeah?"

"Yes," Sivan agreed, promising, "I'll be careful. Do you still live in the same place or have you moved?"

"Nope," Janice popped the 'P', "Haven't gone anywhere and don't plan on it. We've had that house for yeeeears."

Sivan nodded and hummed her acknowledgment. She glanced in the side mirror and could see Dianna in the back, her head bent as she typed on her phone. Her thumbs moved quickly and her cheeseburger wrapper from McDonald's still sat on her lap.

Sivan sighed again, staring out the window. It really was a small town. She would bet that there were more trees than buildings and people combined. Heck, throw some animals in there. There were a lot of trees.

She would bet money that she could shoot some amazing pictures. Her digital camera was somewhere in the moving boxes as well as her film camera. She recalled burying it in between all of her winter clothes to keep them safe.

"Here we are," Janice announced loud and proud. Sivan felt her heart stutter, "Home sweet home, y'all! Welcome, Sivan!"

"Thanks…" Sivan mumbled. She played with the hem of her shirt as her aunt pulled into the driveway.

The house was simple and small and flocked by trees, shrubs and greenery. The house itself was a bright white color and the high peaked primary pitched roof was dark gray. There was a pretty and pattered arched window and below that, Sivan noticed another part of the roof that was held up by four white beams and strictly flat to cover the front porch.

She wondered whose room that was or if it was a bedroom at all. It didn't look like that big of a jump and whoever wanted to, could easily sneak out. At least, Sivan thought they could.

The rest of the exterior of the house looked simple enough. A caramel brown wooden door and a white single hung window on each side.

"What do you think?"

Sivan turned and made eye contact with Janice. Her aunt must have been watching her face to gauge her reaction to the house.

"It's really cute," Sivan supplied, "It looks comfortable."

Janice made a face, pulling her keys out of the ignition, "I know, it's small. It's not even 900 square feet, but it works for us—it's home and it'll work for you, too."

"It will," Sivan agreed. She made her voice chipper, trying to sound optimistic.

"Let's go, then," Janice was the first to get out of the car, "You can do some unpacking before it gets dark. I guess you don't have to go to bed early, it's Saturday, but that jet lag will catch up with you…maybe we can have a cup of tea, later. And make sure you take your shoes off when you go inside."

"Yes, ma'am," Sivan answered and got out of the car. She opened the backseat door and grabbed her floral printed carry-on bag, hiking it onto her shoulder. She needed both hands to get her matching suitcase. It was heavy and she had crammed everything she could into the bag to avoid having to ship too many boxes.

She shut the door and tilted her suitcase on its wheels, pulling it behind her. It was the only sound she heard besides footsteps.

'_It's quiet in Forks_,' she decided. She didn't hear car horns honking or people shouting or sirens or anything like that. If she listened really hard, she could hear the leaves rustling and birds chirping.

While she walked, she looked up at the sky. The clouds, she noticed, that had been puffy and white up in the airplane, were dark gray and dense here. It smelled of greenery and storms.

Her cousin and aunt were waiting patiently by the door. Dianna looked as though she couldn't care less, but Janice lit up when Sivan finally caught up to stand with them, her hand already on the doorknob.

"Here we are!" Janice announced again, grinning. She opened the door.

Sivan removed her shoes while she looked around. She could already tell that the living room was the biggest room in the house. It was wide and spacious, even with the furniture that took up space. The walls were painted an off white and different kinds of artwork hung on the walls. A small fireplace was tucked nicely in the corner of the room, framed family pictures on the mantel.

The floor was sleek and dark brown. So glossy, that Sivan could see her reflection. The long sectional couch was dark, espresso brown and looked like some kind of faux leather. It sat on a mustard yellow rug separating it from the floor. It looked comfy, the white throw pillows placed nicely and the emerald green afghan folded neatly over the back of the couch.

The coffee table was black and had some fancy looking coasters in the middle. At the end of the couch was a side table with a lamp and there was a nice looking television on a stand.

From where Sivan stood, she could see the hardwood stairs, the same color as the floor.

"Over here is the kitchen," Janice began to walk and Sivan followed, bringing her luggage with her, "It's a kitchen," she shrugged, "There's a dishwasher, an oven and a microwave. We have a ton of food, so, help yourself."

"Oh…" Sivan couldn't stop the frown on her face. The kitchen was nice. A stacking washer and dryer flanked the kitchen. She spotted white cabinets and something that looked like a sliding closet, but was probably a pantry.

She looked around and peaked out back to the living room. From this angle, the coffee table did look bigger, but…

"You guys don't eat together?" she asked, noticing the lack of a dining room table.

"Not really," Dianna piped up. She shrugged carelessly, "We usually just get food down here and take it to our rooms."

Sivan nodded slowly, not quite understanding.

Seeing Sivan's reaction, Janice spoke up, "You don't remember? I work at Forks Community Hospital. I'm a nurse practitioner and I manage all the other nurses. I end up working a lot of overtime and sometimes, I end up being on-call."

"Oh!" Sivan was suddenly interested, "So, you work a lot of hours?"

"Oh, yes," Janice chuckled, leaning against the counter, "I do. And once I'm off, I just want to come home, take a long and hot shower, get a snack and go to bed. I pop in here on my lunch break if I have time."

"Okay," Sivan nodded. Would they be home alone a lot? It didn't really matter, both she and Dianna were both adults and Dianna, she knew, in a few months, would be fleeing to Moraga, California to go to school. Dianna wanted to go into the medical field like her mother and was leaning towards cardiology.

"The bathroom is right over there," Janice pointed to the closed white door in the very corner of the kitchen, "We always keep it closed, whether someone is in there or not."

"Makes sense," Sivan commented, just because she felt like she should.

"Well, that's pretty much the tour of the house," Janice led them all back into the living room, "You definitely won't get lost. Upstairs is nothing special. Bedrooms and another bathroom."

Sivan's hand was becoming sweaty from holding the handle of her suitcase. She wiped in on her jeans, then rubbed her eye. She was not looking forward to pulling her suitcase up those steps, but she wasn't going to ask her aunt to do it and she knew Dianna would die before she offered to help.

"Thanks for the tour," she said, lowering her hand, "Um…I guess I should unpack, now?"

"Of course," Janice nodded. She began to walk towards the stairs and placed her hand on the banister, "Definitely. Unpack now, so, that if you need something, we can go out and get it, tomorrow. All of your boxes came and Dianna will show you your room."

With that said, she left, leaving Dianna and Sivan alone in the grand living room.

They stood there face-to-face and Sivan rubbed her sweaty hand on her jeans again.

"I don't know why I need to be here," Dianna said, she sounded genuine and not mean, "Really," she shrugged, "What else do you need?"

"I mean…" Sivan shrugged too, "Can you carry this?" she dropped her carry-on to her hand, "And it'll be easier for me to get my suitcase upstairs."

Dianna's youthful eyes widened, "Ohhhhh," she drawled in understanding, "You thought—no, okay, I see why you're confused," she pointed a pink manicured nail to another white door that was almost, if not a few inches off, directly across from the front door.

"_That's_ your room," Dianna clarified, "You get the guest bedroom—it's not the guest bedroom anymore, though. Mom and I sleep upstairs."

"Oh," was all Sivan could muster out. 'Oh' seemed to be her new catchphrase in Forks.

"Yeah," if Dianna noticed Sivan's dejected state, she didn't say anything, "Do you still need help?"

"I-I guess—no," Sivan stuttered. She was going to be living downstairs all alone? It was fine, she guessed, unexpected.

"Cool," Dianna flashed a smile and headed for the stairs, "It's good to have you here. See you later, cuzzo!"

"Um, see you—" Sivan stopped mid-goodbye. Dianna had taken the steps two at a time and vanished upstairs. A moment later, she heard a door close.

She stood there. Alone. It was quiet and there wasn't even the sound of a ticking clock to fill the silence.

She wasn't sure what she had thought it would be like here, in Forks, but so far, this wasn't it.

She blinked once and bit her lip, then let out a loud sigh if only to fill the silence.

At last, she took her suitcase, the strap from her carry-on bag beginning to dig uncomfortably into her right shoulder.

She went to the guest-room—her room and shut the door behind her with a click. Her hand felt against the wall and she easily found the light switch and flicked it on, the bedroom lit up with dull fluorescence.

Cardboard boxes scrawled on in black broad felt-tip marker, took up any floor space in the room, the flooring the same as the rest of the house. Bare ivory walls devoid of any color, art or photos looked freshly scrubbed. She had a large storm window in her room, covered by sheer and opaque peach colored drapes.

Considering it had been the guest-room and knowing that her auntie liked to impress people, Sivan knew the king-sized bed wasn't really for her and she was still grateful. Especially since she saw her bed was already made.

She loved the comforter. White peaked out from the blue, orange and peach flowers splashed across the thick bedding. It looked like a water color painting. There were dark teal satin sheets and matching pillowcases for the two pillows propped up against the padded, camel back headboard.

Next to her bed, there was a nightstand crafted with wood and had one drawer and a lower shelf.

Diagonal from the bed, against the wall closet to the door, was a wide pine dresser with three drawers. The sleek black handles looked brand new.

Inside the empty closet, she found a black rectangular laundry basket.

There was so much to unpack and she wasn't sure where to get started. She supposed she should try and find her bathroom toiletries and unpack her clothes. Maybe she'd start with her suitcase.

She felt as if she needed a moment and maneuvered her way through stacked cardboard, letting her carry-on bag fall from her shoulders, to her fingers, then to the floor with a dull thud.

She sat on the edge of her new bed, the mattress sinking with her weight.

While she was very grateful for her own space, she couldn't help, but feel tucked away. She didn't sit up straight, her shoulders slumped. Her eyes shifted to the side and became glazed with a glassy layer of tears. As she blinked, they dripped from her eyelids and slid down her cheeks. The sadness sat, heavy in her chest.

She leaned over and covered her face with her hands.

* * *

"_Sivan_?" there was a knock on the door, "_Are you still awake_, _honey_?"

Sivan looked over her shoulder. She stood on her bed in her black socks, as she finished hanging up a string of chunky gold star lights.

"I'm awake!" she called, shoving a tack into the wall. Satisfied with how the lights looked, she fell to her knees.

Janice opened the door just as Sivan got to her feet. She was wrapped in a fluffy green robe and had a purple satin scarf tied around her head. Black slippers encased her feet.

"Ohhhhh," Janice cooed, "Your room looks so nice."

"Thank you, Sivan smiled. She wasn't done unpacking, but had come a little ways.

"How would you feel about taking a break and coming to have a cup of tea with me?"

It wasn't a question, despite the tone and Sivan nodded, leaving her room to follow her aunt to the kitchen.

She already had the tea prepared in matching blue mugs and Sivan copied her aunt by leaning against the counter.

"It's green tea with honey," Janice slid over the mug, picking up her own, "I don't take lemon in mine. Do you take lemon in yours?"

"No," Sivan shook her head. She was more of a coffee person, but caffeine was caffeine.

As if sensing her thoughts, Janice chuckled, "Nice try. Do you know how late it is? It's decaf tea. All that caffeine ain't good for you, honey," her tone changed, "Gives you headaches."

Sivan chuckled and smiled a small smile. She took a sip from her mug. It was good tea. It burned her tongue, but not in a bad way.

"Let's hash this out, so, that you can get to bed," Janice said, nodding, "You've had a long day and I know the time difference will be getting to you any moment."

"Okay," Sivan agreed. She wasn't tired, though and probably wouldn't sleep. Most likely, she'd finish up her room. She hated clutter.

"I got you registered for high school," Janice paused and Sivan stayed still as she gauged her reaction, "Monday's your first day. You'll be able to finish out your senior year, no problem."

"Really?" Sivan was relieved. She was worried that there would be some class she had missed or a stupid P.E credit or something like that. Wonderful. She didn't want to stay in high school any longer than necessary.

"It's a small school, Sivan," Janice said and Sivan had figured that it would be, "There's less than four hundred students. Three hundred-something and you know they'll talk," she took a long drink from her cup and cleared her throat, "Somebody transferring with three months left in the year. You couldn't wait?"

"I couldn't wait," Sivan confirmed.

Sivan refused to have the eye contact that her auntie was trying to make with her and she took another drink so long, she thought she'd choke on it, but it seemed better than this conversation they were having."

Janice sighed, deciding to drop it, "And I know you need help getting a car. Trust me, you can't walk anywhere around here. There's nowhere really to walk too. You got money saved up?"

Immediately, Sivan nodded, resisting the urge to run to her room and get her cellphone. She had been saving up for a car since she had turned sixteen and had gotten her first job and seventeen. Most likely, it still wouldn't be enough for a car, but it was something.

"Okay, good," Janice smiled, wagging a finger at her, "Smart. We'll talk more about that when we go to get your license switched over to a Washington State one. Now, I know you're eighteen and an adult, but you're under my roof and I have rules…"

This was the part Sivan had been dreading.

"They're simple," Janice promised, "Everyone in this house either works or goes to school—both if they can manage and I don't need to tell you to keep your grades up, but that comes back to bite you if you don't, not me. No drugs, no smoking, no drinking, no sex, no having people over without letting me know who's gonna be in my house even if I'm not home."

Cheeks colored, Sivan nodded. So far, so good and nothing she needed to worry about. She didn't do any of that and she had no friends. She was already a perfect guest.

"I don't expect you to pay a certain amount of rent or anything," Janice's tone turned from stern to soothing, "I try to do things differently than my parents did, but some kind of help would be appreciated. Cleaning up around here is common sense, I don't need to tell you that," she waited for Sivan to nod before continuing, "When the time comes and that's soon, I'd love to help you apply to colleges and get scholarships or grants. Again, if not, then you need to be working and then I _will_ expect some help financially."

Sivan nodded again. That sounded both reasonable and understandable.

"No curfew, you're grown," Janice said and Sivan made a firm sound of agreement, "But it would be nice if you didn't leave the house at 5:00PM, then waltz in through that door at 7:00PM. At least let me know that you'll be gone, so that I don't lose it and file a missing person's report. Got it?"

"Got it," Sivan echoed. That hadn't been so bad.

"Okay, that's it, then," Janice brought her mug to the sink, "For now. You can go back to your room."

"Thank you, Auntie," Sivan gave her a hug, breathing in the floral scent, "I'm so grateful. Goodnight, I love you."

"Mmmm," Janice squeezed her and kissed her temple, "I love you more and I'm so happy that you're here. Get some rest."

"I will," Sivan promised, released her aunt and began to walk back to her room. It was going to be a weird night. She was downstairs all alone and the whole house would be dark. Would she hear anything? She kind of wished she had bought a nightlight.

"Sivan, honey?"

Sivan had barely reached her room when her aunt called her name and she turned, flicking up her eyebrows, "Yes?"

Janice came towards her and Sivan frowned, 'What's happening?' she thought, concerned when her aunt placed her hands on her thin shoulders. Was she going to give her another kiss?

When her aunt spoke, her voice had dropped to a low murmur, "Now, I didn't want to say nothing in front of Dianna…I know how you two can get," she rolled her eyes, "But that's not a conversation for, today. I wanted to ask—well, your mother? She knows you're here?"

"I—" Sivan's words caught in her throat and her frowned deepened, "I, mean, I g—um…goodnight, Auntie."

Janice sighed and released her shoulders, allowing Sivan to escape into her room. Even when she shut the door, Sivan felt like her aunt was staring at her through the walls.

"_Goodnight_, _Sivan_."

* * *

**Author's Note: Hello, all,**

**Welcome to my new story and I am veeeery excited about this one. It's a plot that I thought of while rewatching the Twilight movies and I sort of just ran with it and came up with this story. With this chapter, I got a bit carried away and I don't think I've never had a first chapter be this long. Thank you to be Beta Reader Sabrina06! What do you guys think of Sivan? Don't forget to leave a review!**

**Disclaimer: Despite the opening quote in the summary, this movie is based on the books, not the movies. Also, later in the story or if I feel it is right at anytime, this story might change to an 'M' rating. Not due to sex (spoiler alert: I'm not an author who's comfortable writing intimate things like that), but due to language and the rating will give me more freedom to write. However, I'll cross that bridge when I come to it and for now, this story will be remained a 'T' rating.**

**Thanks,**

**x FictionChic**


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